Apparatus for joining spaced elements



Patented June 13, 1944 UNITED i STATES PATENT .OFFICE APPARATUS FOR JOINING SPACED ELEMENTS f Y Albert C. Fischer, Chicago, l

l Application January 28, 1931, Serial No. 122,8 33 l 11 claims. wel. 94-18) variations, it mayas well be applied tor any other eld of structures in which similar problems are encountered. In the present art of roadway construction, pavement sections are separated by a lling medium which permits expansion of the sections with seasonal variations. However, when once'expansion has taken place, the filling medium is extruded from the joint between the sections and ows upon the roadway in all directions. When the pavement sections contract there is nol longer available the sealing medium which was placed in the joint originally, andvv dirt, moisture, and foreign matter enter the joint with their consequent deleterious eifects.`

It is the primary object o f the present invention to provide arrangements permitting a storage of the lling medium which normallyis extruded from the joint for return thereto upon the contraction of the juxtaposed structural elements. Theiilling medium may be fluid; semi-fluid,v or plastic material,V subject to cold ow with or without the imposition of pressure, as well as various inherently compressible materials, as long as it is capable of entering'into the storage spa-ce provided therefor upon the expansion of the structural elements and nowin'g'therefrom upon their return movement.

It isa 'further object of my invention to provide novel transloading arrangements between adjacent pavement sections in 'order to produce a roadway having a longv life without deterioray tion.

It is a further object of my invention to provide transloading arrangements in expansion joints of a pavement'embodying features' forV maintaining substantiallyrr constant the volumetric capacity of the sealing medium in the expansion joint despite variations in the width of they expansion rjoint occasioned by the expanding and contracting movements of zthe pavement sections.`

OtherA objects and 'purposes' will appear yfrom a more detailed'd'escription of the invention following hereinafter,` taken in conjunction with the accompanying'drawings' wherein:

Fig. 1 'is a vertical sectional View of an expanl sion joint between two vadjacent structural ele mentsv such as'p'aveinent sections; l Fig.' 2 is a perspective view of a pair of the space `defining elements within the expansion joint shown `in Fig'.` 1

Fig. S-is a vertical sectional view of an ex pansio'n joint embodying' another form 'of the' invention including'atransloading device; Y v I ig'. 4 is 'averticalv sectional view along line 4-4of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is aplan view of apavement 'embodying-y alternately arranged transloading elements of the type illustrated in Figs. Sand 4;

f Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View of a variation of the arrangement shown'in Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a vertical 'sectional view of a different embodiment' of the'invention showing the positioning of the parts when the joint'is extended as a resultof the contracted condition of the" pavement sections; v

Fig. 8 is 'aview similar to Fig. 7 showing the` positioning thefparts when'the expansion joint' is narrowed' as a result of the expanded( condi'- tion of the pavement sections; and Fig; 9 is 'a perspectivevi'ew of cooperating elef ments associated with the pavement Asections as shown in Figs. 7 'and 8.

" v'Irl Fig. lf the tirait/"ingsl the Structural mellibers`,`"which may' consist of concrete, are des--v ignated by bande. having a gaptherebetween denoted by "a whicli'is'adapted to 'be filled by a suitable 'llingfmedi'uin'capable of yielding to the expanding'and':contracting movements ot thefsectionshe and "e Heret'ofore an expansion `joint of this type was lled'with a'plastic' medium at the timef-of `construction 'of 'a roadway 'or analogous 'struc'tii'e.Y which proved satisfactory until expanding" movements'of'the juxtaposed sections occasionedfan'extrusion df theflling medium5 from the j'intwhich was" 'lost `forever therefrom by virtue ofthe tendency 'of -this nllingL medium to'flow'orpass away from the joint along lines of least resistance.' Therefore, upon a return of the elementsy e andf`e"'to their original position, an"insucient'am'ount` of the' filling" gave rise -to joints and spaces into which entered sand,v grit, water; 'and 'other undesirable fori--` eign? materials'.v 'The` present invention obviates these diHicultie's-b'y providing an expansion joint between" two A structural members which auto-v matically adjusts'the` volumetric space between In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the above objectsz'are .realizedirby-f using one or more angular-ly disposed resilient.`

metallic plate elements b joined at an apexA c which is embedded or anchored in the walloi` the structural member. In Fig: 1 a' series of such are shown at different levels of the joint, with aligned pairs of such elements defining parallelog-rams of'Y spaceV whichY are' `sealed-.against entry ofthe fluid-medium: Bearing. platesd. ex-

tend between the free ends -of theangular plates and have slotsf' therein cooperating4 with pins p upon the free Yendswof the angular plates to effect a guiding .ffthe.Y latter inV the-course of the'movements of thestructuralmembers to vary the outline of theparallelogramsof space4 and thus the volumetric capacity embraced thereby. The space or. spacesdenedbysuchparallelograms maybe fllledwith-asuitable material which.V will readily' yield tothe movements of the me Vutilization by the joint.

of the pistons or plates z in the chambers y' must be apportioned suitably to the size of the gap and the extent of movements of the pavement sections to provide adequate storage for the filling medium in accordance with the movements of the sections.

Fig. 6 shows another modification oi a transloading arrangement in Iconjunction with a device for storing the filling medium for subsequent In this modification the transloading element h is anchored at l in the pavement section e. The piston or plate member i is designed to cooperate with a chamtallicA plates, such as' resilient fabric or other fibrous or flexible material. Thus it will readily be seen that` whenfthe--sections ear-1d e: experience al relative'approaching movement towards. eachother to' l narrow, the gan-therebetween, thev vertical apexes of the l parel-lclog-ramsV willi travel towards eachother onfplates d5 thereby reducing the'void spaces embracedrtherebyand allottingv more spacefor the accommodation of the filling medium in the gap,- which' otherwise:

would tend to -be extruded therefrom.

Although the expansion joint-.shown inFig; 1-

isfillustrated as applicable to two similar sections capable of movement, it; may lalso'be adaptedrto an velement whichiis=movable with respect to a fixed section; g. f Y Y *In Fig. 3.k isshcwn-another. formof-rea1izing the present invention incorporated in atransloading device which servesjtoneutralize the de:- structive-forces-operating'upon the ends of'pavement sections-,byN the relzieated shocksi imposed' upon-such-endsg.v In' this-- arrangement a transloadingdowehbar hisranchored atg-i in the pavement section e. Theother'endof thefbar'h is'in the forinof anlenlar-ged face i which operates aga-Piston; inI conjunction witha chamber iv forrried. inthe pavement section-e. It=l is readily l seen-.that a relativeexpanding movement be-t tweenwthepavement sectionsgives rise to anarrowing ofthegapebetweenthe sections and; the travelof -the pistoni iu towardsv the base of."l the space i. Thereby a' space-is formed-upon' "thev right-'face of'y pistorr zforreceiving the filling.

medium,l whichl otherwise. would: bey extrudedf fron-r thejoiritand whichis in` position to be raretlrlrnedf thereto upon-.the return contracting movements of thepavement sections.

In Fig-4 is illustratedy a series of transloading elements arranged along the-end wall of a pavementsection.forthegpurposerof obtaining a'uni'- form transfer of,Y the loads on the roadway to' ber j? extending into the gap, and this chamber is. suitably anchored or embedded in the pavestance-'the` transloading. deviceswhich may beeitherin the formas shown in Fig.4 2 or that` as shown in Fig. 6, arefanchoredat gl in both `the pavement sections. e and e", and the chambers 7 areY likewise alternately arranged. in the pavement vsections e and e1 for cooperation with the pistonsor plate members-i on the respective dowelbars. f

In- Figs. 7 to 9 is showrranother form ofV realizing the presentinvention. This assembly consists in forming chambersin-the opposite walls of. the movablestructural sections which arefdesigned to cooperate. with plate membersor pistoriv elements connected tothe end walls of the sections. They unit shown in these gures represents a chamber B' Ywhich is designed to be formed in the right end wall'of an expansion joint and which wall has operatively connected-theretobyV means of bridging arms M, a piston element or Vplate member C for cooperation with a chamber D .formed4 in the opposite wall. This 'chamberf D is adapted to be formed inthe end Wall of the. left section of the expansion joint, andA ment of this. assembly in concrete. sections e' ande is illustrated inl Figs. 7- and 8and by anv examination of these figures ,it is readily seen that as the pavement sectione--moves to the rightby the expansion thereof, piston A moves with section e to. enter chamber B. within the pavement section ke'. If e'experiences a like expending movement, it movesto the left andtakes therewith piston C which enters chamber D in the pavement sect-ion e.

, The placement of -the sealing medium a' for the positioning of Vthe;V parts under different operating conditions are shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The

space N forv accommodating the plastic Yfiller is small when thegap between the pavement `sections, as-a result of their contractions, is large,

as shown in Fig. 7. Whenv the4 pavement sections approach towards eachV other, the space N beicomes larger to accommodate. the filler `body which would otherwise be extruded fromv the joint, as yshown in' Fig. 8.. In the'last-mentioned;

View may be seen the nesting of/pistonC in chamber D and piston A in` chamber B, giving rise to the enlarged space N, into which may be forced the sealing medium vfor storage while the movable sections e and e' remain in the position shown in Fig. 8. Upon their partial or cornplete contraction the pistons A and C reenter the gap between thepavement sections and Yforce the material from the space N into the gap to maintain it completely filled for all positions assumed by e and e'. The chambers B and D and the respective cooperating pistons A and C may extend for only short lengths simulating' the chambers shown in Fig. 4 or they may extend across substantial lengths or the complete length of the pavement roadway as indicated in Fig. 9. Of course, the arms M and M' for bridging the elements B-C and A-D, respectively, are staggered, as shown in Fig. 9 to permit the relative movement of the elements and the passage of the filling medium. This assembly functions also as a transloading device to realize the structural advantages accruing from such a unit operating in an expansion joint of a pavement.

The arrangements described above may 'consist of pre-fabricated elements which are built into therstructural sections prior to or at the time of construction. The elements may lbe set into the structural sections or these sections may be formed about the elements. Likewise the filling material may be pre-formed and positioned prior to the placement of the structural elements or l? the filling material may be introduced subsequent to the positioning of the parts.

The features attendant the dowel bar or transloading devices disclosed herein may be realized with or without the utilization of the features f vices for bridging the opposingr faces of the expansion joints, suc-h as are known in the art. may lbe used in conjunction with the devices in accordance with the present invention. Such sealing devices may be p-laced upon either the upper or lower surface of the joint.

Any fibrous resilient and highly compressible material may be disposed in the spaces which are void of filling medium, as described above in conjunction with the first embodiment of the invention. Also such spaces may be left void.

The chambers formed in the structural sections may be llined in whole or in part with metallic or other suitable liners, with or without vent openings, according to the need therefor. Any expedients known in the art may be availed of to obtain smoothly operating and tight joints between the several forms of space-defining means disclosed above.

While I have described my invention as embodied in concrete forms and as operating in certain ways for purposes of illustration, it should be understood that I do not limit my invention thereto, since various modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention. the

tion, a transloadingV element having one end thereof anchored in one of said slabs and the other end thereof having an enlarged face, a conning chamber attached to the other slab and extending into said gap adapted to accommodate tightly the enlarged face of said transloading element, said space adapted to receive the excess sealing medium when said gap is narrowed and to return said sealing medium when said gap is widened in response to expanding and contracting movements of said slabs.

2. A pavement assembly comprising two pave'- ment slabs having a gap therebetween filled with a sealing medium, a plurality of transloading elements each having one end thereof anchored in one of said slabs and the other end thereof shaped as a piston working in conjunction `with a chamber formed in the opposite slab, the anchored ends of said elements alternating with the chambers along the horizontal projection of said pavement slabs, and said chambers adapted to be varied yby the relative movement between said slabs whereby a storage chamber for excess filling medium is provided when said gap is narrowed for return to said gap upon the widening thereof in response to expanding and contracting movements of said slabs.

3. In a device of the class described, a pair of relatively movable structural members spaced by a gap adapted to be filled with la sealing medium, a chamber in the end wall of each of said members facing said gap, a piston connected to each end wall in spaced relation thereto substantially congruous with and opposite the chamber in the opposite wall whereby a movement of said structural members towards each other eifects a nesting of said pistons within the respective chambers to permit the space normally occupied thereby to be filled with said sealing medium.

4. A pavement assembly comprising two pave'-v ment slabs subject to expanding and contracting movements 'in response to atmospheric changes spacedby a gap adapted to be filled with a sealing medium capable of flowing deformation, a chamber in the end wall of each of said'members facing said gap, a piston connected to each end wall in spaced relation thereto by a plurality of supporting bars, said pistons being substantially congruous with and opposite the respective chambers in the opposed walls whereby a movement of said pavement slabs towards each other effects a nesting of said pistons within the respective chambers to permit the passage of the .i sealing medium past said supporting bars to fill the space occupied previously by said pistons, and a return movement of said pistons by the separation of said slabs forces the fiuid medium into its original placement to maintain the gap filled with the sealing medium at all positions of the slabs.

5. A pavement assembly as defined in claim 4 wherein the chambers and pistons are formed by interconnected metallic members extending along the width of said pavement slabs.

6. A structural assembly comprising two spaced structural units having a gap therebetween, a ller subject to deformation and cold flow in said gap, space-defining members in the ends of said units adjacent to said ller, and auxiliary space-defining elements corresponding in outline to said members connected with said respective units and members, spaced from the respective connected members and adapted to engage in nesting relation with the member not connected therewith, whereby a variation of the volumetric capacity of said space-deiining members and elements is produced in accordance with the storage needs for said ller arising from the expansion and contraction of said structural units.

7. A structural assembly comprising two spaced structural units having a gap therebetween, a filler subject to deformation and cold fiow in said gap, a space-deiining member in the end of one of said units adjacent to said iller, a second.

space-defining member in the end of the other unit adjacent to said filler, an auxiliary spacedefining element corresponding in outline to said second member connected to said one unit spaced from the member disposed therein and adapted to engage in nesting relation the member in said other unit, a second auxiliary space-defining element corresponding in outline to said rst member connected to the other unit spaced from the member disposed therein andv adapted to engage in nesting relation the member in said one unit, said elements occupying space within said gap in the contracted condition of said units and adapted to telescope into the spacesdeiined by said members in response to the expansion of said unit to permit the ller to occupy the space vacated by the elements and thereby to'prevent the extrusion of said ller from said gap.

8. In an expansion joint for two relatively movable structural elements separated by a gap lled with a sealing medium, a chamber anchored to the end face of one of said elements at said gap and dening a void space, and a plate member in alignment with said chamber connected to the other one of said elements, said plate member having one side adjacent to and facing said gap and the opposite side facing theclosed end of said chamber and having a cross-section corresponding to that of said chamber and slidably movable within said chamber to vary correspondingly the proportions of said chamber on the opposite sides of said plate member and consequently the space on the side of the plate member adjacent to said gap adapted to receive the sealing medium from said gap in the course of movements of said structural elements.

9. In an expansion joint for two relatively movable structural elements separated by a gap filled with a sealing medium, a chamber in one of said elements at said gap defining a void space, and a plate member in alignment with said chamber connected to the other one of said elements, said plate member'having one side adjacent to and facing said gap and the opposite side facing the closed end of said chamber and having a crosssection corresponding to that of said chamber and slidably movable within said chamber to vary correspondingly the proportions of said chamber on the opposite sides of said vplate member and consequently the space 0f said chamber adjacent to said gap wherein may flow the sealing medium contained in said gap in response to relative movements between Vsaid structural elements, whereupon the sealing medium is returned to said gap upon the reverse movements between said structural elements.

10. In an expansion joint for two relatively movable structural elements separated by a gap iilled with a sealing medium, a chamber formed in one of said elements at said gap and defining a void space, and a plate member in alignment with said chamber connected to the other one of said elements, said plate member having one side adjacent to and facing said gap and the opposite side facing the closed end of said chamber and having a cross-section corresponding to that of said chamber and slidably movable within said chamber to vary the space in said chamber connecting with said gap wherein may flow the sealing medium in said gap in response to relative movements between said structural elements, a second chamber formed in the other one of said structural elements at said gap, and a plate member connected to said one element in alignment with said second chamber, said last mentioned plate member having one side adjacent to and facing said gap and the opposite side facing the closed end of said second chamber and havingy a cross-section corresponding to that of said second chamber and slidably movable therein to vary the space in said second chamber connecting with said gap.

11. In an expansion joint assembly as set forth in claim 10 wherein the chambers and plate members in each of the elements are substantially continuous in a longitudinal direction across the structural elements.

ALBERT C. FISCHER. 

